


don't be scared, don't be flustered

by marmies



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Light Angst, Pegasus Culture, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22477312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmies/pseuds/marmies
Summary: hubert has always been interested in the mystery that was marianne, and marianne curious about the infamous hubert. despite their differences, they do manage to bond over one thing - pegasi. (post time-skip)
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund & Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	don't be scared, don't be flustered

There she was again, tending to the animals as usual. 

Today, Marianne was assigned on pegasi duty, which meant that it was her turn to feed and care for the pegasi. There was a certain tenderness that she held whenever it came to animals - a shine in her eyes, the softness of her hands, the gentleness of her voice.

_(it was because she had never been treated like so until she came to garreg mach. there was a desire within her to wish that people could treat her like she treats the world - yet, she knew she was not worth it. that was what she used to think anyway - it was a different story now. with the aid of her friends and professors, she had blossomed into a more assertive person, and without them, she might have had not been here today.)_

Hubert never understood how such a dangerous individual could be so reserved, so shy. Perhaps it was because Marianne wanted to protect everyone from her true powers - the Crest of the Beast was something to be trifled with. Of course, he naturally felt bad for her as well. Through Edelgard’s ideals, he knew how many people have suffered because of their crests - and that he should not have prejudice against them. They were nothing but victims of a flawed system; something that they could not control. Yet, Hubert could not help but feel alert upon seeing Marianne - there was something about her that was so mysterious to him - and so here he was, observing her from afar. 

Yet, there was something off about his description of Marianne in his head in comparison to what was actually happening in front of him. She was laughing and singing to the pegasi, both her hands grasped warmly against the pegasus’ snout as she touched heads with it. The Marianne he had in his head was timid yet cold (that was what he only heard from observations, from the number of times he heard them say how she would just curse them if they were anywhere near her). But right now, what he saw was a Marianne that was opposite the rumors and murmurs of the students. And that was also when he finally thought of a word that perfectly described what Marianne was to Hubert - 

Enigmatic. 

Suddenly, a whinny of a pegasus caught Marianne’s attention to the outside of the stables’ entrance, where Hubert was standing. “What is it, dear? What has caught your attention?” Her voice was also a stark contrast to what Hubert thought it would be as well - hushed and gentle. When she turned around, Marianne suddenly flushed red upon the attention Hubert had been giving her all along this time without her knowing - and with that, she could only utter out:

“It’s my turn on the stable duty today. Is there anything I could do to help you?”

Hubert, being sharp mannered as always, acutely said: “No. I was merely observing you - there is nothing else to it. I apologize for intruding.”

Marianne, confused, could only stare at him. “Well, I would appreciate it if you didn’t. I apologize for anything you saw though - it is a little embarrassing to talk to animals like this.”

“No, no,” the black-haired mage started, “it is nothing to be ashamed of. Being acquainted with animals is an admirable skill.” Hubert looked at the pegasi in an almost indifferent manner, but Marianne saw a slight glint in his eyes as he peered at their direction. “If only…”

Since he was a kid, he always had dreams of being a pegasus knight - there was something exhilarating about riding the skies and finishing off enemies with magic in hand. He recalled how awestruck and pure he used to be as a kid ever since he saw the knights ride off into the skies heroically. But he vividly remembered the moment he rode on one alongside his mother, he could not help but cry desperately in her arms as he begged her to bring him down, the heights being one of his deadliest fears. 

_(there was something horrible about falling and falling, helplessly being unable to cling onto anything for life as he continued to fall. the nightmares he had about them were endless after that moment in time, for the sensation of the air kept him queasy. perhaps it was best for him to stay grounded like he always had been, the familiar place his safe haven.)_

“If only…?” Marianne caught the small mumble of breath he uttered out within the silence of the stables, curious to what Hubert wanted to say next.

To her, Hubert was just as much of an enigma as she was to him. Fiercely loyal to Edelgard, dangerously cruel, and cunningly smart. She had heard whispers of how he eliminated his own father after he had betrayed Edelgard - something she could never do to her adoptive father. Her adoptive father was nothing but loving to him - and she imagined that his father set him up well for being the next retainer for the Hresvelg family as well. Marianne knew not all fathers were caring - but she did know that Marquis Vestra was never cruel to his son. Right now, even though they were allies within the war, she could not help but feel a little uneasy next to him at the moment. She did not know why she would even ask Hubert to clarify his words, but yet here she was, deathly interested in the man in front of her.

“Are you curious about me?” Hubert chuckled, to which she tilted her head. Why would he laugh? That was a very odd reaction. 

Yet he continued, a look of reminiscence in his eyes. “I’ve always been rather charmed by pegasi. Yet I know only females are the only ones that they could trust - they would never let someone like me ride on them, of course.”

Something compelled Marianne to offer out some carrots towards him, with Hubert looking puzzled as to why she would. “Maybe you can’t ride them as I do in battle… but what if you tried, anyway? Isn’t it always worth a shot?”

The very action stunned Hubert to his spot, with him for once, not knowing what to do next. Perhaps he should accept the carrots and try to feed it to her pegasus, who was looking at him with such inquisitive eyes, he felt like. Or perhaps he could leave now, and leave Marianne to it - it was futile trying to gain a pegasus’ trust as a man.

But, he could not help but walk into the stables, accepting the carrots from Marianne with a quiet “thank you.”

And there was a side of Hubert that Marianne never saw. 

Was it curiosity that drove him to agree into doing this? Or was it because he trusted Marianne enough? She widened her eyes as he took the carrots from her hand, but then her expression softened upon seeing Hubert looking at her. “Don’t worry - I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything to you that might harm you. He’s a gentle one.”

Hubert rarely gave into his pleasures as his duties were always comprised of work - some would even argue that work was his pleasure. But just now, he just agreed into doing something he thought he would never do. There was something about the way Marianne was confident about believing in him despite never had interacted before - and there was something about the way that she would trust him with such things. 

Perhaps - no, it was true. He was wrong about her all along.

She would never do anything to hurt a soul, and the war had only forced her hand to do such cruel things.

As he fed her pegasus with the carrots freshly grown from the greenhouse, he noticed how much she smiled when he was treating Hubert with such gentleness - “Yes, that’s right dear, Hubert’s not going to hurt you now.” She nuzzled against the pegasus affectionately, as the black-haired man finished feeding the pegasus. But then, the pegasus flared out its wings, whinnying a little as he startled both Marianne and Hubert - and as Marianne was about to calm him down, the pegasus quickly retreated its wings and placed its snout against Hubert’s hand.

“Oh!” Marianne gasped in surprise, looking at the scene unfolding in front of her. Hubert was wide-eyed, once again frozen in the spot as he stared at the pegasus - did he… actually gain his trust?

As she quickly headed towards Hubert’s side, she patted the pegasus’ mane proudly as Marianne looked at him in the eyes. “I can tell he’s really happy about what you’ve done today, Hubert,” Marianne mentioned, a genuine, soft smile appearing on her lips. But then, a frown quickly replaced it, with her saying: “Hubert, I’m sorry about when we first met. I thought you came here with ill intentions, and I only wanted to protect-”

Hubert quickly cut her off, replying: “No, it was my fault for acting so suspicious. Forgive the intrusion,” he sighed a little, “but thank you for just now.”

The smile on her lips reappeared again, and the coldness of Hubert’s heart felt like it had been melted. 

“I’m glad - it was a pleasure being with you today. I’m glad I saw another side of you, Hubert.”

“Another side?” He asked, looking at her with inquiring eyes.

“Yes. A side of you that is gentle and trusting, that believes in others regardless of what you say.”

Hubert gazed at her for a while, before finally letting out a small “hmph” and walking away. “You can believe what you want to believe. Goodbye, Marianne.”

“Goodbye, Hubert,” she watched his retreating back leave the stables, and Marianne turned back to her pegasus.

“I guess he isn’t all that intimidating, huh?”


End file.
